Gears Teacher Resources

Activate middle schoolers' minds with this physical science activity. Learners vary the diameter of gears and the number of teeth on them to find how energy output is affected. This writeup features well-developed background...

Get the class's gears turning! Pupils first watch a video that introduces the situation: Given three gears, how many turns will it take for the dots shown on the gears to line up? They count the number of spurs on each gear, then use the...

Learners discuss that the conservatin of energy states that the energy imput must equal the energy output. They then figure out how can a machine help you to perform task otherwise considered impossible? Students discuss the six simple...

Fourth graders investigate the principles and uses of gears, and examine how gears can be used to alter the direction of motion or the speed of an object. They observe two cars with different sized wheels roll down an inclined plane,...

Middle schoolers calculate gear ratio as they solve word problems. They discuss and find slopes as they relate to real life. Additionally, they hey use ratio and proportion to make predictions and solve problems.

Students engage in a instructional activity that is concerned with the design principles employed by the engineer Reuben Goldberg. They read a biographical sketch of the artist and then create the context for studying how machines work....

In this learning about gears activity, 5th graders read and discuss a 1 page article on gears, fill in 7 blanks to complete 5 facts about gears and make a set of gears from a template provided in the activity.

In this gears worksheet, students put together and label gears and see how many turns it takes to go in a given directions. Students then fill in a chart with their results.

In this gears worksheet, learners use a ruler and gears to conduct an experiment. Students follow 11 sets of directions,write a conclusion, and graph their results.

In this gears worksheet, students read about putting together different gears and answer short answer questions about it. Students also put together gears and read a story.

Fifth graders read selected pages from their science text and explain forces affected by wheels and axles. They read and discover that gears transfer forces and that gear combinations relate to compound machines.

Mountain biking sounds like a lot of fun, but it also sounds like a lot of hard work! You have to get uphill to enjoy the ride downhill. Learn about shifting gears to go uphill and to keep your weight balanced properly. This is one...

Young scholars analyze an engineering problem. They contrast paper and pencil mastery of concepts with hands-on mastery. They present their design and rationale behind it, whether it works or not.

Students explore gears.  In this simple machines and ratio instructional activity, students view a video clip in which front and rear bicycle gears are explained. From a set of gear combinations and gear ratios, students identify...

High schoolers use paper plates and detailed directions to build a model of the Michigan Avenue Bridge's gear system. By carefully measuring and cutting "teeth" for the gears of the "Gear Train," they create small gear that will...

Safety first! A science video explores the design of safety helmets. It considers both elastic and inelastic collisions.

In this math worksheet, students apply their knowledge of angles and rotation to solve a word problem involving an old pocket watch.  They discuss gears, rotation and accuracy.

High schoolers build simple gear trains and record data to discover how to compute gear ratios. They investigate the definition of torque and how torque can be increased or decreased in a gear train.

Demonstrate how different-sized gears work together according to gear ratios. With the guts of a clock and the gears of a bicycle, Mr. Vander Heuvel explains how changing gears can alter the output of a system when the same input is...

Students work together to build a simple gear train. They record their observations as it gains speed and how the gears rotate. They develop rules about gears based on these observations.

The Medieval Islamicate World was truly a world of wonders! Clocks with gears, armillary spheres ... and robots that played music? Journey to ancient Baghdad, the center of science and math with the seventh video in a History of Science...